Steph Curry lines up his putt during the July 21 practice round. Photo/Kathryn Reed

STATELINE – Steph Curry understands what it is like to be a fan. The basketball star is nutty about golf, being a fan of Jordan Spieth’s. His wife just shake’s her head when he spends six hours on the couch watching it on TV.

Where is he on a day off during the hoop season? On a golf course.

Curry, star of the Golden State Warriors basketball team, is back on the links for the 27th annual American Century Championship at Edgewood Tahoe. It was hard to miss him Thursday, as he had the biggest gallery. For the three days of the actual tournament, which begins today, Curry is likely to rival singer Justin Timberlake for the largest following.

Actor-singer Jack Wagner is ready to tee off. Photo/Kathryn Reed

On July 21, Curry was patient as the crowds swarmed and flung all sorts of paraphernalia at him to sign. Selfies were part of the requests, too. So was signing and throwing footballs on hole 17.

“I have much less confidence on the greens than I do on the court. Everybody asks like if putting is like shooting free throws. Like that six-footer for par or something like that,” Curry said. “It has a very similar kind of mindset. And it’s just you, the ball and the target.”

Fans were wearing a ton of gold and blue on Thursday.

But the No. 30 jersey wasn’t the only one in the crowd. J.D. Dostlik of Santa Cruz had a Jerome Bettis shirt on. He’s originally from Pittsburgh – where “the bus” made a name for himself on the gridiron. Dostlik was able to get a shirt signed for his friend Wendy Ocegueda of Chico.

Another woman told Bettis that without his play the Steelers would not have won the Super Bowl. He responded, “I’m not so sure about that.”

J.D. Dostlik secures a Jerome Bettis signature for a friend. Photo/Kathryn Reed

Other fans weren’t too sure about some facts. One woman was overheard telling her friends that former Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann is who the Heisman Trophy is named after.

Former ace of the Atlanta Braves, Greg Maddox, had his caddy taking pictures on his phone at the driving range in an attempt to see how he was swinging.

The Golf Channel has its popular glass break challenge set up near the driving range. It took Mark Mulder, last year’s ACC champion, two swings to shatter the glass.

Former football great Marcus Allen launches one down the fairway. Photo/Kathryn Reed

Jack Wagner, a two-time winner of this tournament, hammed it up a bit for fans on hole 10. He started singing for a group of women, using a golf club as a mic. For those in the bleachers he made a point to come close enough to be photographed.

One thing all the players won’t have to contend with is former champions Billy Joe Tolliver, Rick Rhoden and Dan Quinn.

The 86 celebrities gunning for a piece of the $600,000 kitty will begin teeing off at 6:30 this morning. The winner will be crowned Sunday.